I was recently asked, “when Jesus healed people and told them not to tell anyone, and they did, was this a sin?” I was a bit upset by the question coming from a friend who had been a Christian for close to 60 years. I should not have been, but I was. I could understand it coming from a new believer who always has questions like this. However, coming from a long time Christian upset me. What difference would it make to know the answer? Why would this be important to know? How would knowing the answer grow and mature you?
Paul admonished people when he said; “Though you ought to be teachers you are in need of being taught”, “You are babies eating baby food and should be eating solid food”, “You need to be continually growing and maturing”. Jesus spoke to the church in Revelations, “you are lukewarm”.
I was wrong by getting upset and my expectation of this man in this regard. He has many fine examples of being led by the Holy Spirit in gentleness, kindness, generosity, love, mercy, and grace. He is an example of living in the presence of God and listening to and following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I guess the question I would have expected was, “Why did Jesus tell them not to speak?” I want my friend’s desire to grow in God’s Word. He could easily look at me and want me to grow in being led by the Holy Spirit more.
We all have gifts for the growth of each other so as to spur each other on in this life. I did no good getting upset with my friend.
However to answer the question, “Why would Jesus tell those healed no to speak of it?” I found these comments.
Mrk 5:41-43 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Mat 9:27-31 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Mrk 1:40-45 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Mrk 7:31-36 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
Today’s question has to do with the methodology of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Why did Jesus tell those whom He healed to remain quiet and not to tell anyone about what He did? Why would the Lord want us to proclaim the Gospel now but those who were made well back then to be quiet? What is going on with this methodology of the Jesus’ ministry? Although we don’t have a direct answer in Scripture, there is some solid evidence that we can look to in Scripture in order to understand the Lord’s methodology.
Before we can get a grasp on this question, let’s take a look at the cultural expectations in Israel during the ministry of Jesus. Most of the nation was looking for a political revolutionary as Messiah. This expected king would free Israel from Roman rule and establish a dynasty that looked like a lot like Solomon and David’s kingdom. Distracted by this expectation, Israel looked past the clear prophecies about the Messiah that point to salvation accomplished through the atoning death of the Christ (Is. 53, Ps. 22). Since the political and religious environment in Israel was saturated with this kind of anticipation for the Messiah, Jesus was very careful to distinguish the real work and message of the saving work of the Christ from the populous’ way of thinking.
The first thing we observe about the practice of the Lord in the matter of commanding those who were healed to remain quiet is that the Lord didn’t mean to keep people away from coming to Him to hear Him preach the gospel. In fact, Jesus desired for the people to come to Him and hear the Word of God in His preaching and teaching (Luke 4:18). So why not advertise His power to heal? Because the primary purpose of the Lord Jesus was not healing but preaching the good news of the gospel (Mark 6:34). The fame of Jesus due to His compassionate healing ministry actually served to make it difficult for the Lord and His disciples to preach the gospel because of the crowd’s frenzied focus on healing and miracles. We get this kind of flavor from Jesus in John 6:26, “…you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” The people became more interested in the immediate benefits of being healed or fed than hearing and obeying the Word of God.
His acts of healing that the individuals tell no one what had happened, because He was performing those acts out of love and mercy, and not for the purpose of publicizing or bringing glory to Himself
Surprisingly, observing supernatural miracles did not typically lead people to repent and follow Jesus’ teaching. Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed annoyance with crowds who flocked to see a popular leader do something supernatural. He wanted from the spectators not applause, but commitment.
When we notice in the gospels, gradually, Jesus relied more and more on parables, which he explained to his disciples in private.
In the course of His ministry, however, Jesus did use miracles simply because He had compassion on people. But physical healing is always a temporary matter. Knowing the truth of the gospel has eternal consequences. The teaching was always the point. Unfortunately, sometimes the miracles got in the way of the teaching. Such was the case when He healed the leper who told so many people Jesus couldn’t even teach in town anymore. Humans are shallow creatures who often choose the immediate good over the eternal great. While a few individuals called on Jesus specifically to hear His teaching, mobs came to Him seeking healing. Some stayed to hear His teaching. But the vast majority who heard of Jesus’ miracles betrayed Him in the end because He didn’t perform the one miracle they wanted—independence from Roman rule.
This situation has direct application to us today. Many ministries feed on stories of the miraculous. Accounts of healing, wealth, and deliverance draw people to the door. But all the healing in the world is useless if the people refuse to listen to how they can be spiritually healed for eternity. When we experience miracles in our own lives, we must be careful. Sometimes telling others will encourage them to find out the truth about Jesus for themselves. But sometimes it will lead to bitterness when God doesn’t give them exactly what they want. We need to have the wisdom of Jesus to know the difference.
